City of Rochester
News
Release
Over
$2.1 Million in Savings Generated by 403 Changes, Including Furloughs, Work
Sharing and Layoffs
Notable
Details Include:
-
Uniformed members of the Rochester Police and Fire Departments as well as the
Emergency Communications Department are Unaffected
-
No Impact on Refuse & Recycling, Road/Bridge Maintenance or Water Service
-
25 Mayor’s Office Staff Affected (1 furloughed, 20 job sharing, 4 separations)
(Tuesday,
May 5, 2020) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren announced today
personnel reductions to protect essential services, including the police and
fire departments. Over $2.1 million in savings will be generated over the
current and next fiscal years. 403 employees in total are affected. However, 17
positions are eliminated with the remaining 386 employees subject to furlough
or work sharing for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.
“We face a public health crisis that has also become a
fiscal crisis for Rochester and our fellow cities across the country,” said
Mayor Warren. “We are acting now to protect essential services, including our
police and fire departments, because we must do all we can today to ensure we
overcome the uncertainty of the coming weeks and months. The loss of revenue
from our sales tax, as well as state aid will be significant, but remains
unknown. We are hopeful that our federal and state governments will step up to
help Rochester and other cities. But, we cannot wait. We must protect our
community and its taxpayers now.”
The initial personnel reductions will begin to be effective
Monday, May 11 and include 403 employees -- 178 furloughed, 208 work share and
17 separations. Notification to these
employees began earlier today.
Importantly, all furloughed and work sharing employees will
retain their healthcare benefits for the duration of their changed status. Separated employees will receive nine (9)
months of healthcare benefits after their last date of employment. In addition,
many furloughed or job sharing employees will benefit financially from the
increased unemployment benefits provided by the federal CARES act.
“These are not decisions I make lightly; I value our City
employees and the work they do,” said Mayor Warren. “However, we must act now
to lessen the impact of this crisis on our community later. It is my sincere
hope that our federal and state leaders act to provide the needed resources to
our local governments so we can continue to provide vital services.”
A complete breakdown of the personnel reductions by
department is provided below. Mayor Warren will propose her full budget,
including these reductions, to City Council on Friday, May 15.
City of Rochester Personnel Reductions
to Begin Effective Monday, May 11
Department
|
# of Furloughed
|
# of
Job Share
|
# of Separated
|
Total
|
Mayor’s Office
|
1
|
20
|
4
|
25
|
Human Resources
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Law
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
Emergency
Communications
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Environmental
Services
|
2
|
28
|
0
|
30
|
Library
|
151
|
62
|
0
|
213
|
Information
Technology
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
Neighborhood &
Business Development
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
Finance
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
Recreation &
Youth Services
|
0
|
48
|
8
|
56
|
Police (non-uniform)
|
0
|
46
|
1
|
47
|
TOTALS
|
178
|
208
|
17
|
403
|
###
News Media: For more information, contact 311 or (585) 428-5990.